Issue 175
Issue 175 is the one-hundred and seventy-fifth issue of Image Comics' The Walking Dead and the first part of Volume 30: New World Order. It was published on January 3, 2018. Plot Michonne, Magna, Yumiko, Eugene, Siddiq, and Princess are all surprised and blinded by the lights all shone in their direction. Princess makes a joke about the armor of the soldiers, but the soldiers state that they should not move or they will open fire. The survivors from Alexandria do not move, but Princess again jokes about the armor…especially the part covering their private area. One of the soldiers named Samuels is in disbelief about Princess’ sense of humor but is told to quiet down. Eugene says that they were meant to meet them there and gave them the advantage to help build trust. He also asks where Stephanie is. The soldiers say that Stephanie was not authorized to act on behalf of the entire Commonwealth and that they will instead be speaking with someone else. Heading inside a lighted train car, the representative from The Commonwealth sits down behind a table. Removing a glove, the individual picks up a pen and introduces himself as Lance Hornsby, a person tasked with handling all new entries to their community. Eugene is not pleased. He demands again to speak with Stephanie. Lance continues to state that they will be talking with him and, after ordering the soldiers to raise their weapons, he explains that their presence alone puts their group in danger. Once again, he says they will follow through with the examination and any attempts to leave will be futile. After a moment of silence, Lance continues and orders one of the soldiers to go out and canvass the area to see if there are any other survivors hiding nearby. He says that he may be threatening them, but the last thing he really wants to do is have the soldiers kill them. Eugene says that they have dealt with small men and threats before and their group will not be intimidated by them. Eugene adds that if they wanted to kill them, they would have done it already. After asking the others if they share the same view, Lance is pleased with this, adding that they are finally on the same page. Michonne prompts him to ask the questions so The Commonwealth can lower their weapons. Hornsby says he likes her already. He asks their names, how far they traveled, their firepower, way of life, and if they have friends in the area. Lance is surprised to find out that they don’t have any major issues with their way of life. He mentions a recent survivor who would daily use walker blood to camouflage their scent, prompting Michonne to remark they have sparingly used the same tactic to escape from herds of the dead. The soldier sent out to patrol the area reports back and says the area is clear except for the Alexandrian's horses. Since the number of horses didn’t match the number of people, Lance asks if one person walked. Princess says they just picked her up, but they are getting to know each other; Lance says he will need to talk with her a little more. Using her real name, Hornsby is corrected to call her Princess. He says that he feels comfortable with everyone else but wants to take some more time to get to know her story before she takes ‘the trip’. Once again, Eugene speaks up. He says he’s not going anywhere until they meet Stephanie and if that’s not going to happen then they may as well shoot them all. Frustrated once more by this attitude, Lance reveals that they are going to where Stephanie is. Lance goes to pack his gear up, saying they are leaving. The survivors can either join them on the trip or get shot by the soldiers. The group decides to join The Commonwealth on the trip and rides their horses along the caravan of soldiers on foot and a horse-drawn wagon. During the trip, Lance falls asleep in the wagon. One of the Commonwealth soldiers tells Michonne not to worry and that Lance is just a jerk. He says he’s been there a couple of years and it’s great, but people like him are essential for the community to work. The soldier adds that they aren’t marching the survivors toward their deaths. He says their armor is intimidating, but they are there to protect everyone, including the group from Alexandria. The caravan comes to a complete stop when a group of walkers is spotted on the road. He says to use blades over guns to not awaken Lance. The group takes out some of the walkers, but realize there are more than they thought. The soldiers are yelling as they fight. They say this could be the ‘Magenta’ swarm, but if it is that means their spotter was wrong with their location. They open fire, which wakes Lance. Eugene asks if they should do something, but Michonne says that they should be READY to do something but feels they have the situation under control. Lance turns around and says he is impressed that their group isn’t panicking and states he will make a note of that. With some soldiers left to fight the walkers, Lance, the group from Alexandria, and the remaining armored troops continue toward their destination. After a bit of a ride, they come upon a stadium. Michonne asks if their community is inside, but Lance says it’s for concerts and football games. This excites Princess, who is pleased to hear that there are some musicians within the community. Siddiq asks about the sports and discovers that there are many different types available but understandably, there aren't too many. Magna asks how many people are in their community and Lance replies about fifty thousand, leaving the survivors speechless. The group rides past a billboard with items tacked on it. When Eugene inquires about it, Lance explains that it is their “Wall of the Lost”. It has people who were separated from the area and is to help people to possibly reunite with their loved ones. Lance tells them to take a look at it while they wait. Michonne says the faded pictures are the saddest, but he replies that it’s the people who keep updating the wall to newer pictures and can’t let go that are the most depressing, even if it is heartwarming. He tells the group that every once in a while there is a story about someone who is on the wall that helps to fill in what happened, and that alone is something that people appreciate. Magna, Yumiko, and Princess are stunned to see how many people have posted on the board, commenting that they have lost loved ones, but never to this degree. After a moment, Eugene notices something and tells Michonne she needs to see it as well. Pointing at the board, she sees a poster from Elodie saying “Have you seen my mom, Michonne?” with a photo attached. Tears immediately start rolling down Michonne’s face with thoughts of reuniting with her daughter. Credits *Michonne Hawthorne *Eugene Porter *Magna *Yumiko *Siddiq *Juanita Sanchez *Frost *Samuels *Lance Hornsby *George *Rufus *Commonwealth soldiers Deaths *None Trivia *First look at the Commonwealth Arena *First appearance of Frost. *First appearance of Samuels. *First appearance of Lance Hornsby. *First appearance of George. (Unnamed in this issue) *First appearance of Rufus. (Unnamed in this issue) *This Issue's cover is an homage to Issue 25's cover. **This is the second of only two issues to have the title "The Walking Dead" in the middle of the cover. **This issue's cover also bears similarity to the cover of Volume 17: Something To Fear. Goofs/Errors * Page 8 is completely reflected. Proof of this would be Lance's hair being parted to the right when other pages show that it‘s parted to the left, as well as the positions of the characters don’t match up with other pages (Michonne is on Eugene’s right on page 7, but on his left in this page), and panels 2 & 4‘s dialogue are switched. The listing for the original art featured on page 8 helps back this error up. It’s unknown why this page was reflected. Category:Media and Merchandise